CN108644628B

CN108644628B - High-yield low-cost large-area flexible OLED (organic light emitting diode) lighting module

Info

Publication number: CN108644628B
Application number: CN201810572632.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 庞惠卿; 夏传军
Original assignee: Beijing Summer Sprout Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Summer Sprout Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-06-06
Filing date: 2018-06-06
Publication date: 2024-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 2038-06-06
Also published as: US11359770B2; US20190376650A1; US11519561B2; US20220252225A1; CN108644628A

Abstract

The utility model discloses a high yield low cost large tracts of land flexible OLED lighting module, belongs to OLED illumination field, the flexible illumination of high yield, low cost and large tracts of land can be realized to the lighting module. Also discloses a preparation method of the OLED lighting module and an OLED lighting lamp.

Description

High-yield low-cost large-area flexible OLED (organic light emitting diode) lighting module

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Device) Light source. More particularly, it relates to a high yield low cost large area flexible OLED lighting module, a method of making the same and an OLED lighting fixture incorporating the same.

Background

OLED lighting has received attention in recent years due to high efficiency, cold light sources and new forms. Recent advances in light extraction have achieved efficiencies of OLED illumination up to 130lm/W (K.Yamae, et al, SID Digest,682 (2014)). LG Display commercialized hard-bottom light panels can also achieve 90lm/W efficiency at 3000K (LG Display: OLED light panel user guide v 3.0). This has been compared to LEDs with an efficiency of 70-100lm/W (https:// www.energy.gov/eere/ssl/LED-bases). The Luflex series illumination of LG displays is to make OLEDs of different sizes on flexible substrates, up to 300mm x 300mm. Displays and products using such OLED light panels are already commercially available (see fig. 1a to 1 c). However, OLED lighting is still too expensive compared to other lighting, such as LEDs, fluorescent lamps, and incandescent lamps. For example, one LG OLED Sky desk lamp sells $255.99, one Vela OLED wall lamp sells $2,590, and its ceiling lamp is up to $9,990. Meanwhile, a TaoTronics LED desk lamp only sells $27.99, and even a Blackjack LED area light source only needs $359 (www.amazon.com). This severely hampers the commercialization of OLEDs, limiting them to high-end luxury applications. Moreover, large area light sources or flexible light sources formed by multiple LED assemblies have been seen in the market, which further reduces the distinction between these two light sources, adding to the challenges of OLED into general illumination.

It is generally common that the high cost of OLEDs is derived from organic materials, especially the light emitting layer materials, production costs and most importantly, low yields. An obvious way to reduce production costs is to increase the size of the motherboard so that the throughput per batch can be increased. Although the earlier investment in higher generation production lines was higher, calculations found that after 5 years there was little difference in the cost of a single substrate produced by a 5.5 generation line and an apparatus that could produce 6 inch substrates (barre Young, cost of Ownership Model for OLED SSL). But this does not solve the yield problem. The low yield is mainly due to dust, which can cause short circuits between anode and cathode so as to damage the whole light panel. To reduce the dust effect, it has been invented to embed fuses (US 8,836,223 B2) or to increase the thickness of the organic layer by constructing a tandem (tandem) structure. The fuse approach may help, but has a limit-the entire panel is considered to fail when more than 1% of the pixels are shorted. The tandem structure does have a blocking effect on some sizes of dust, but is not useful for dust with diameters greater than 500 nm. While flexible OLED lighting is particularly sensitive to dust, it can penetrate the thin film encapsulation layer, reducing device lifetime even though they fall on top of the complete organic layer. Other efforts have focused on further improving device performance, including efficiency and lifetime, to reduce $/lm, and using low cost roll-to-roll (roll-to-roll) processes to fabricate devices on flexible substrates. However, the increase in device performance is still slow relative to the reduction in LED cost, and the efficiency and lifetime of flexible lighting remains a major issue.

It is stated first that this invention focuses on general lighting applications, essentially distinguished from the display-based or passive matrix described in US 9,954,389 B2, in which each pixel has its own drive circuit, although the pixels are also arranged in an array, on a single substrate and are several orders of magnitude smaller in size than the monolithic substrate described in this application. Although there are also flexible printed circuit boards used to drive the OLEDs in US 9,954,389 B2, the circuitry is more complex due to the display application and the OLEDs are all fabricated on the same substrate.

The current trend in commercial OLED lighting fixtures is to try to make the largest illuminated area of the OLED light sheet on a single substrate and then to use each or more of these light sheets to form the fixture. Some luminaires using commercial OLED light panels are presented in fig. 1 a-1 c. Here, all OLED light panels, regardless of size, are provided in a modular form by LG Chem. "module" refers to an electronic device having only one set of external circuit drivers. As shown in fig. 2a, the OLED modules of LG Chem each have a pair of wires extending beyond the light panel and secured with a socket for use. Power supply driving may also be provided, as shown in fig. 2b for pulse width modulation (pulse width modulation) and amplitude modulation (amplitude modulation). Each such module is essentially an OLED light panel with external wires. Such a module, or a single light panel, still inevitably suffers from low yield and high cost due to the excessive light emitting area.

Recent developments in the field of microdisplay have enabled LEDs to be arranged in an array on a substrate (US 2005/0207156 A1). However, to achieve high resolution, the LEDs are closely spaced together (see fig. 3 a). In any case, these LEDs are very small and are not suitable for large area general lighting. There are some ideas to space a plurality of OLEDs and LEDs (US 9,887,175 B2) for lighting applications (see fig. 3 b). Although there is a spacing between the OLEDs so arranged, this is to leave the LEDs in place to provide a point light source effect. Furthermore, the OLED in US 9,887,175 B2 requires two substrates and an adhesive to achieve encapsulation (i.e. conventional cover-plate encapsulation), which reduces the filling rate. In our invention, without the need for LEDs, we introduce a proprietary strategy to maximize the fill rate and achieve efficient packaging. A tile-type planar light source is described in US 2005/02489335 A1, which aims at interconnecting adjacent OLED light panels at their respective boundaries by pre-designing contact electrodes to form a compact array of OLED light panels (see fig. 3 c). In so doing, each light panel has at least two contact electrodes in the same direction, and the panel-to-panel connection is specific. In our invention, the contact electrodes do not have a fixed requirement and there is no requirement that adjacent light panels have electrical connections. In particular, the electrodes in these OLED light panels are connected to each other by soldering, bonding, special complementary frames, etc., rather than a shared flexible printed circuit board as used in our work. In addition, in US 2005/02489335 A1, the substrate and the FPC are not present at the same time. Even if FPCs are used as the material of the substrate, there are many FPCs each overlapping only one OLED. In our invention, the substrate and FPC are present at the same time and serve different functions, and one FPC coincides with a plurality of OLEDs.

Finally, in US 9,337,441 B2 an OLED lighting system is presented, wherein a plurality of OLEDs share a cover plate, which cover plate provides an external drive (see fig. 3 d). The core idea here is to cut the motherboard into multiple closely arranged OLED sets, which all share the same substrate under the same patch. In our invention, each OLED panel is cut so that their substrates are separated from each other. The advantage of this is that the bad light panels can be screened out and assembled only, resulting in a significantly improved yield of modules, which is not possible with the structure of US 9,337,441 B2, since all light panels use the same substrate. In addition, in our invention, the light panels are purposely spaced apart so that there is some space between the substrates. Thus, a large area flexible lighting tile (large-area flexible tiles) can be realized even though a single light panel may be prepared on a hard board. The structure claimed in US 9,337,441 B2 requires the use of a fully flexible substrate for large area flexible lighting, and the yield of such devices is greatly compromised.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to an OLED lighting module, a method for manufacturing the same, and an OLED lighting device including the same, which solve at least some of the above problems. The OLED lighting module and the preparation method thereof and the OLED lighting lamp comprising the lighting module can realize high yield, low cost and large-area flexibility.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an OLED lighting module is disclosed, comprising:

a plurality of OLED light panels, wherein the OLED light panels comprise a substrate, an OLED device, an encapsulation layer, at least one anode contact, at least one cathode contact, and at least one light emitting surface;

a first flexible printed circuit board including a first surface and a second surface, and a first circuit printed on the first surface;

wherein at least one of the anode contacts and at least one of the cathode contacts of at least two of the OLED light panels are electrically connected to the first circuit on the first surface of the first flexible printed circuit board such that a plurality of the OLED light panels are electrically accessed externally;

wherein the substrates of at least two of the OLED light panels are spaced apart from each other.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is also disclosed a method of manufacturing an OLED lighting module, comprising:

a) Determining the area of an active area of an OLED light plate;

designing a light plate layout;

b) Designing light plate distribution;

designing corresponding circuits for the light panel distribution;

printing the designed circuit onto a first surface of a flexible printed circuit board;

c) Manufacturing a plurality of OLED light panels on at least one motherboard;

Encapsulating the plurality of OLED light panels;

cutting at least one of the mother substrates into individual OLED light panels;

d) And electrically bonding at least two separate OLED light panels to the first surface of the flexible printed circuit board, wherein the OLED light panels are capable of being externally driven;

wherein a space of more than 0.1mm is arranged between the substrates of at least two OLED light plates;

wherein step b may be performed before, after or simultaneously with step c.

The OLED lighting lamp comprises at least one OLED lighting module.

The novel OLED lighting module disclosed by the invention has the advantages that the substrates containing the OLED light plates are separated from each other, so that the OLED light plates can come from different mother boards, such as different mother boards prepared from different materials, and the cost is reduced. Meanwhile, the same mother board may cut out more units of a single OLED light panel than units including a plurality of OLED light panels. And good units are screened from the obtained more OLED light plates and assembled, so that the yield of the OLED lighting module is greatly improved. In addition, the OLED light plates in the OLED lighting module are arranged at intervals so that a certain gap is formed between the substrates, and therefore the light plates prepared on the hard plate can be used for realizing large-area flexible lighting. This increases yield and reduces cost relative to having to use a fully flexible substrate to achieve large area flexible illumination.

Drawings

FIGS. 1a-1c are illustrations of an OLED light fixture using multiple OLED illumination light panels, each of which is a moldGroup of。

Fig. 2a is a display view of the light emitting face and back face of each module of the OLED light fixture of fig. 1a-1 c.

Fig. 2b is an illustration of a power driver for driving the OLED module of fig. 2 a.

Fig. 3a is a schematic diagram of a micro display formed from a closely packed LED array.

Fig. 3b is a schematic diagram of a lighting device comprising a plurality of OLEDs and LEDs.

Fig. 3c is a schematic view of a tile-type flat panel lighting system comprising lighting units electrically interconnected to each other on the edge of a light panel.

Fig. 3d is a schematic view of an OLED lighting system comprising a plurality of OLED cells, wherein the plurality of OLED cells share a cover, wherein the electrical contacts are connected to the cover.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example of a contact design that maximizes fill.

Fig. 5a is a schematic diagram of a portion of one example of a circuit layout on an FPC.

Fig. 5b is a schematic diagram of a corresponding version of an OLED light source, wherein the OLED light panels are electrically connected in parallel.

Fig. 6a is a schematic diagram of a portion of one example of a circuit layout on an FPC.

Fig. 6b is a schematic diagram of a corresponding version of an OLED light source, wherein the OLED light panels are electrically connected in series.

Fig. 7 a-7 e are schematic diagrams of an OLED lighting tile having a plurality of bottom emitting OLED light panels, wherein fig. 7a has no thin film encapsulation layer on the FPC board, fig. 7b has no light extraction layer, fig. 7c has one light extraction layer, fig. 7d has a separate light extraction layer, and fig. 7e has a support film.

Fig. 8 a-8 b are schematic diagrams of an OLED lighting tile with a top-emitting OLED light panel, wherein fig. 8a has no light extraction layer and fig. 8b has a light extraction layer.

Fig. 9 a-9 c are schematic diagrams of illumination sources with two-sided OLED light panels, wherein two bottom-emitting OLED illumination tiles with aligned OLED light panels are used in fig. 9a, two bottom-emitting OLED illumination tiles with alternating OLED light panels are used in fig. 9b, and a two-sided FPC board is used in fig. 9 c.

Fig. 10a is a schematic plan view of a portion of an OLED lighting tile.

Fig. 10b is a corresponding schematic cross-sectional view along line A-A' in fig. 10a, wherein the light extraction layer is absent.

Fig. 10c is a corresponding schematic cross-sectional view along line A-A' in fig. 10a, with a light extraction layer.

Fig. 11a and 11b are schematic views of a portion of an OLED lighting tile, wherein fig. 11a is a top-emitting OLED light panel assembled onto a mesh FPC board, and fig. 11b is a transparent OLED device assembled onto a mesh FPC board in the same configuration.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of an OLED lighting tile with a sensor mounted between the lighting panels.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a large area flexible OLED tile including a plurality of rigid OLED light panels.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart of a method for preparing a high yield low cost OLED tile module.

Detailed Description

As used herein, "top" means furthest from the substrate and "bottom" means closest to the substrate. In the case where the first layer is described as being "disposed" on "the second layer, the first layer is disposed farther from the substrate. Unless a first layer is "in contact with" a second layer, other layers may be present between the first and second layers. For example, a cathode may be described as "disposed on" an anode even though various organic layers are present between the cathode and the anode.

As used herein, the term "OLED light panel" includes a substrate, an OLED device, an encapsulation layer, and at least one anode contact and one cathode contact extending outside the encapsulation layer for driving. The OLED device comprises an anode layer, a cathode layer, and one or more organic light emitting layers disposed between the anode layer and the cathode layer. The OLED device does not include a substrate and an encapsulation layer, which are already present in the OLED light panel.

As used herein, the term "module" refers to an electronic device having only one set of external electrical driving means.

As used herein, the term "encapsulation layer" may be a film encapsulation having a thickness of less than 100 microns, which includes the application of one or more films directly to the device surface, or may also be a cover glass (cover glass) that is adhered to the substrate.

As used herein, the term "active area" refers to the light emitting area of an OLED device when powered on. The active area may be a regular pattern or an irregular pattern.

As used herein, the term "separate" refers to an object where two objects are not physically connected and do not form a unified body.

As used herein, the term "fill ratio" refers to the area ratio of the light emitting area to the entire light panel.

As used herein, the term "flexible printed circuit" (FPC) refers to any flexible substrate coated with any one or a combination of the following, including but not limited to: conductive lines, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and the like. The substrate of the flexible printed circuit may be plastic, film glass, a metal film coated with an insulating layer, fabric, leather, paper, or the like. A flexible printed circuit board is typically less than 1mm thick, more preferably less than 0.7mm thick.

As used herein, the term "light extraction layer" may refer to a light diffusion film or other microstructure for light extraction, as well as a thin film layer having a light extraction effect. The light extraction layer may be located on the substrate surface of the OLED light panel, or may be located at other suitable locations, such as between the substrate and the anode, or between the organic layer and the cathode/anode, between the cathode and the encapsulation layer, on the encapsulation layer surface, etc.

As used herein, the OLED lighting module includes a plurality of OLED light panels (panels), which may include a minimum of 2 OLED light panels, and at most may be self-set according to use needs.

a plurality of OLED light panels, wherein the OLED light panels comprise a substrate, an OLED device, an encapsulation layer, at least one anode contact, at least one cathode contact;

According to one embodiment of the invention, the OLED light panel has at least one light emitting surface.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the OLED lighting module further comprises a light extraction layer.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the light extraction layer in the OLED lighting module is a diffusion film and is attached to at least one light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the light extraction layer in the OLED lighting module extends beyond the light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the light extraction layer in the OLED lighting module is attached to at least a portion of the first flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the encapsulation layer in the OLED lighting module is a thin film encapsulation layer.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the encapsulation layer in the OLED lighting module is a cover sheet bonded to the substrate.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the substrate of at least one OLED light panel in the OLED lighting module is flexible.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the OLED lighting module further comprises one or more sensors, wherein at least one of the sensors is placed between two OLED light plates.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sensor in the OLED lighting module comprises one or more of a motion sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a humidity sensor, or an infrared sensor.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels further comprises a first OLED light panel emitting light having a first peak wavelength and a second OLED light panel emitting light having a second peak wavelength, wherein the first peak wavelength and the second peak wavelength differ by at least 10nm.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels further comprises a third OLED light panel, wherein the first OLED light panel emits light having a first peak wavelength of 400-500nm, the second OLED light panel emits light having a second peak wavelength of 500-580nm, and the third OLED light panel emits light having a third peak wavelength of 580-700 nm.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the OLED lighting module further comprises a support film, wherein the support film is attached to at least a portion of a side of the first flexible printed circuit board opposite the light emitting face.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first flexible printed circuit board overlaps only a portion of the OLED light panel.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first flexible printed circuit board overlaps at least two OLED light panels.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the first flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the OLED light panel by conductive glue.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the OLED lighting module further comprises a second circuit printed on the second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board, wherein at least one OLED light panel is electrically connected to the first surface and at least another OLED light panel is electrically connected to the second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least one OLED light panel is driven electrically independently.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of OLED light panels have the same or different shapes.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least two OLED light panels are cut from two mother panels.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least one of the first surface or the second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board is pre-coated with a thin film encapsulation layer.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of OLED light sheets are unevenly distributed on the first flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the OLED lighting module further comprises a second flexible printed circuit board, wherein a plurality of OLED light boards are electrically connected to the second flexible printed circuit board, wherein the first and second flexible printed circuit boards are connected such that at least one OLED light board on the first flexible printed circuit board emits light in a direction opposite to the at least one OLED light board on the second flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the first flexible printed circuit board is less than 1mm thick.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the first flexible printed circuit board further comprises a flexible substrate selected from the group consisting of: plastic, film glass, metal film coated with an insulating layer, fabric, leather, paper, and combinations thereof.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a space between the substrates of at least two OLED light panels of more than 0.1 mm.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an OLED lighting module is disclosed, comprising the steps of:

a) Determining the area of an active area of an OLED light plate;

Designing a light plate layout;

b) Designing light plate distribution;

designing corresponding circuits for the light panel distribution;

printing the designed circuit onto a first surface of a first flexible printed circuit board;

c) Manufacturing a plurality of OLED light panels on at least one motherboard;

encapsulating the plurality of OLED light panels;

wherein step b may be performed before, after or simultaneously with step c.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the active area of the OLED light panel is determined by the formula a=929m-2/3, wherein the active area of the OLED light panel a is expressed in cm ² M is an average dust count greater than X microns per cubic foot diameter, wherein X is selected from between 0.1 and 0.5.

According to one embodiment of the invention, further comprising providing a light extraction layer.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein said light extraction layer is a diffusion film and is attached to at least one light emitting surface of at least one of said OLED light panels.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the light extraction layer extends beyond the light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the light extraction layer is attached to at least a portion of the first flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels are thin film encapsulated.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the substrate of at least one OLED light panel is flexible.

According to one embodiment of the invention, it further comprises the step of positioning one or more sensors between two OLED light panels on the flexible printed circuit board.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of the following: a motion sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a humidity sensor or an infrared sensor.

According to one embodiment of the invention, further comprising a support film, wherein the support film is attached to at least a portion of a side of the first flexible printed circuit board that is not connected to an OLED light panel.

According to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels are fabricated from two or more mother substrates.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the plurality of OLED light sheets are screened before being integrated into the first flexible printed circuit board.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, an OLED lighting fixture is disclosed, comprising at least one OLED lighting module as described above.

Although reducing the active area is a naturally conceivable method of improving yield, there are few reports on how to determine the maximum active area. Here we describe a first rule of thumb for determining the area of a suitable active region of an OLED. Typically, OLED lighting is produced between ultra-clean, anode and levee layers (typically a macromolecular polymer such as polyimide) covering the edges of the ITO to prevent the ITO burrs from penetrating the organic layers) are patterned between hundred ultra-clean, and the organic layers, cathode layers and encapsulation are patterned between thousand ultra-clean. Sometimes the anode layer can also be prepared in a sputter chamber by means of a reticle, in which case all process steps can be done in a thousand clean room (US 8,564,192B2). In a mass production factory, all processes are preferably completed in hundred-grade ultra-clean room. Dust introduced in the ITO and levee layers, if any, may damage the pattern, but can generally be used And removes and rarely affects the yield of the final device. In contrast, dust introduced during the organic layer evaporation process is the most critical, as they can cause shorting failure throughout the device. The standard for a hundred grade clean room is less than 100 dust particles per cubic foot with an internal diameter greater than 0.5 microns. This means that, assuming a spatially uniform distribution of dust, they are less than 21.54 per square foot of unit area, i.e. 0.023/cm, for each dust with a diameter greater than 0.5 microns ² . Thus, in theory, every 43cm in a hundred-grade ultra-clean room ² No dust with a diameter of more than 0.5 μm will be present below. This is the maximum active area threshold area theoretically free of dust greater than 0.5 microns in diameter. The organic layer of an OLED in a tandem structure can easily reach a thickness of 0.5 microns. Thus, if the active area is controlled below the dust-free threshold, the yield may exceed 90% and possess 100% of theory. Similarly, we can infer that there is no maximum area of 8cm for a diameter greater than 0.5 microns within a thousand ultra clean room (less than 1000 dust per cubic foot greater than 0.5 microns but less than 5 microns in diameter and less than 250 dust greater than 5 microns in diameter) ² . For a thin OLED device, the organic layer is typically between 100-300 nm thick, so the preferred active area should be half the threshold area to ensure high yield. Alternatively, finer dust measurements are made in the laboratory area to determine the particle free threshold area required for a particular device structure. For example, dust having a diameter greater than 0.3 microns can be measured and the threshold area calculated therefrom.

A general formula can be expressed as follows: if the dust diameter is>Less than M per cubic foot of X μm measured, where X is between 0.1 and 0.5 (more preferably between 0.3 and 0.5), then the active area threshold area A [ cm ] of a high yield OLED panel ² ]It can be calculated as:

A＝929M ^-2/3 [cm ² ]equation 1

Such calculation of the active area threshold area is also beneficial for thin film packaged (TFE) devices, and can prevent dust from falling into the TFE layer, thereby reducing device lifetime.

The individual light panel layouts may then be designed on the basis that the light emitting area does not exceed the threshold area, and then the array on the motherboard may be designed. As the size of the light panel is reduced, it is very important to ensure a good filling ratio, i.e. the ratio of the light emitting area to the total light panel area. Otherwise, the number of individual light panels per motherboard would be reduced to the point of cost. Nevertheless, one benefit of producing small area light panels is to avoid the use of bus bars, which are typically embedded between the ITO and organic layers to improve the light intensity uniformity of large area light panels (US 8,927,308B2). Due to the reduced light emitting area, the uniformity of the light intensity is improved, and the bus lines, which increase the manufacturing cost, introduce possible short circuits, and do not emit light, are not needed. Furthermore, also due to the improved uniformity of area reduction, the contact electrodes can be designed in a smaller number to increase the filling rate. In a suitable design, a quadrangular light panel can have at most 3 sides without contact electrodes while still maintaining good uniformity. Examples of some contact electrode designs, but not limited to these, are shown in fig. 4, where the "+" sign represents the anode contact and the "-" sign represents the cathode contact. As will be described in detail below, when bonding is performed using a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC), the area of the contact electrode can be greatly reduced to further improve the filling rate. Specific light panel design rules will not be described herein, but will be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Improving the packaging technology may even further increase the filling rate. Conventional lidding packaging schemes may take up space, but the borderless form may be realized by film packaging (US 8,933,468B2). To further reduce costs, the film package may be applied to the substrate by printing or spraying (US 9,343,678B2). Such printed or sprayed encapsulation layers may also be used in the levee layer, so that a theoretically costly photolithography step is not required. Alternatively, the levee layer is prepared from inorganic materials including, but not limited to, silicon oxide and silicon nitride by a masking or blanket PECVD post-coating photolithographic process. The inorganic materials can be used for replacing organic materials to make levees, so that the service life of devices can be prolonged.

The light panels described above may be combined in an array on a large area motherboard. The array pattern will take into account the light panel pattern, the light panel contact electrode location, and the capabilities of the production facility. Such array combining knowledge is well within the skill of those in the art. Note that this array format combination is only a part of the production steps, and each light panel is cut from the motherboard after production is completed. It is not to be confused with the light panel distribution pattern for the final module, which will be described immediately below. In theory, each light panel can also be manufactured independently, i.e. the substrate of each light panel itself is the motherboard. Each individual substrate itself may be of any shape, regular or irregular, provided that maximum utilization is achieved when they are arranged on a motherboard.

We also describe herein a novel contact electrode bonding method to reduce non-light emitting area. A Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) is pre-printed with a circuit for attaching the optical board. Printing electrons is a well established field that can be used to print copper, silver, TCO, or organic conductive materials on plastics at low cost. Recent advances have shown that more complex components and assemblies can also be obtained by printing, such as Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) and circuits built from these TFTs. The widths of the conductive lines are different from tens to hundreds of micrometers, so that the contact electrode area of the OLED light plate can be greatly reduced. FPCs are also typically very thin, typically around 12 to 125 microns. Some FPCs are transparent. In addition to the drive circuitry of the printed OLEDs, other circuitry, such as, but not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transmitters, etc., may also be printed on the flex. A portion of an example circuit design for electrically connecting and driving an OLED light panel is shown in fig. 5a, which corresponds to the circuit diagram of fig. 5b. A plurality of OLED light panels 501 are integrated on the FPC board 510. Each OLED light panel 501 has one anode contact at one end and one cathode contact at the opposite end. The anode contact of the OLED light plate 501 is electrically connected to the pickup wire 502, and the cathode contact thereof is electrically connected to the pickup wire 503. In this combination, the OLED light panels 501 are connected in parallel on the circuit. A portion of another example circuit design is shown in fig. 6a, which corresponds to the circuit diagram of fig. 6b, where an OLED light panel 601 is connected in series to an FPC board 610. The capture wire 602 is connected to the anode of the first OLED panel and the capture wire 603 is connected to the cathode of the last OLED panel. These two examples are best suited for light panels with one opposite contact electrode on each side. However, a light panel having a design different from that of the contact electrode may also use the layout, or another circuit design may also be used. Since the FPC board can be printed with a fine size, independent driving of a single light board can also be achieved. In this way, each OLED panel can be driven at different operating points to achieve high uniformity, or intentional non-uniformity, or longer lifetime. The contact electrode of the OLED light plate can be attached to the FPC board after being aligned by the camera lens. As for designing connection circuits for a plurality of optical boards on an FPC, it is a very basic skill in the field of electronic engineering, and those skilled in the art will have this knowledge. The FPC board may be externally powered by, but not limited to, a power cord, a power outlet, a built-in battery, a power controller, wireless charging, and the like.

Each FPC can be attached to a plurality of OLED light panels with gaps left between the light panels. Fig. 7a shows an OLED tile module 700 with a plurality of bottom-emitting OLED light panels 710 integrated onto FPC board 707. The OLED light panel 710 comprises a substrate 701, an OLED device 702, at least one pair of electrodes 704 comprising at least one anode and one cathode contact, and an encapsulation layer 703. The encapsulation layer 703 may be a cover sheet that is adhered to the substrate with UV curable adhesive. Encapsulation layer 703 is more likely to be a thin film encapsulation layer less than 100 microns thick. The OLED light panel 710 is attached to the FPC board 707 on which the circuit is printed in advance by an attaching structure 705. The OLED light sheet may be attached to the printing plate by heat or pressure. The bonding structure 705 may be, but is not limited to, conductive paste doped with metal particles, wire bonding (a wire bonding), soldering, or any other structure known to those skilled in the art. The bonding process may be, but is not limited to, pressure bonding, thermal bonding, UV bonding, or a mixture thereof. In order to simultaneously attach a plurality of OLED light panels, a favored scheme is to provide a platform on which to place the FPC board, pick up the OLED light panels with a mechanical arm, and place the OLED light panels at the required positions on the FPC board. The bonding structure can be prepared before the OLED light plate is placed. For example, if a conductive epoxy glue is to be used for bonding, an adhesive dispenser may be integrated into the same system to apply the epoxy glue where needed. If the conductive epoxy glue requires UV curing, a UV light source will illuminate the bond after the OLED light panel is placed on the coated glue. In another pressure bonding scheme, a jig corresponding to the outline of the epoxy glue can be used to press onto the OLED light panel placed on the glue. Heating devices may also be integrated into the system to provide a warming fit. The platform itself may be a heated plate or a wire chase may be made in place of the epoxy glue profile. Dispensing, robotic arms, UV illumination, pressurizing jig, and/or heating devices may all be integrated into a robotic system. To improve accuracy, an alignment camera may also be used. Note that the above is only a bonding case, and those skilled in the art have knowledge of various bonding schemes. A thin film encapsulation layer 706 may also be plated between the FPC board 707 and the OLED light board 710 as shown in fig. 7 b. In this embodiment, light is emitted from the substrate side, opposite to the encapsulation layer side, which is considered as a bottom light emitting device. In fig. 7c, the light extraction layer 708 may be molded onto the OLED light panel 710 to enhance the light extraction effect. The light extraction layer 708 may be a self adhesive light diffusion film. The light extraction layer 708 may be a thin film coated on the light emitting surface of the substrate. Additional adhesive 709 may be filled between the light extraction layer 708 and the FPC board 707, but is not required. The light extraction layer 708 may also be spaced apart for each OLED light panel as shown in fig. 7 d. If the FPC board is very thin, a support film 709 may be molded onto the FPC board on the side where the OLED is not emitting light, as shown in FIG. 7 e. The support film 709 may be self-adhesive.

In other embodiments, the top-emitting device may be integrated as a tile light source. Fig. 8a depicts a tile OLED module 800 comprising a plurality of top-emitting OLED light panels 810. In this structure, light is emitted from the package side of the OLED light panel 810. Each OLED light panel 810 is attached to FPC board 801 by attachment structure 802. Similarly, as shown in fig. 8b, a light extraction layer 803 may be attached to the OLED light panel 810, since the light emitting surface is now opposite the substrate. An additional adhesive glue 804 may be filled between the FPC board 801 and the light extraction layer 803. In some embodiments, two bottom-emitting OLED tile modules may be molded together back-to-back to form a two-sided light emitting module, as shown in fig. 9 a. In fig. 9a, a first bottom-emitting tile OLED module 911 may be attached to a second bottom-emitting tile OLED module 912 by an adhesive 913 applied on the FPC boards of the two light-emitting tiles to form a two-sided light-emitting module 910. The OLED light panel 901 on the tile module 911 and the OLED light panel 902 on the tile module 912 may form a complete correspondence. Alternatively, the OLED light panels 901 on the tile-type module 921 and the OLED light panels 902 on the tile-type module 922 may be staggered so that the module 920 may emit light on both sides simultaneously and without gaps, as shown in FIG. 9 b. In another embodiment (see fig. 9 c), the FPC board may have printed circuits on both sides and a plurality of OLED light boards may be electrically connected to both sides of the FPC board. Thus, a two-sided illuminated tile module 930 may include an FPC board 934. The FPC board 934 is printed with circuitry on both sides so that the OLED light panel 931 can be electrically attached to one side and the OLED light panels 932 and 933 on the other side. Film encapsulation layers 935 may be attached to both sides of the FPC board 934. Also, an additional light extraction layer may be added to the light emitting layer, but is not shown here.

In some embodiments, the FPC board may not be continuous, but rather may be a mesh or grid pattern. Fig. 10a shows a top view of a part of a tile-type OLED lighting module 100. A plurality of OLED light plates 110 are integrated on the FPC board 101. Each OLED light panel has a substrate 102 and a cover sheet 103 as an encapsulation layer. Note that although a cover-sheet package is depicted in fig. 10a, any other packaging technique, such as a thin film package, may be used herein, the periphery of which is characterized as 103. The section along line AA' corresponding to that in fig. 10a is shown in fig. 10 b. Here, the FPC board 101 has a lattice structure, and does not overlap or contact the cover sheet 103, and is electrically contacted with the OLED light panel 110 only through the bonding structure 107. In this example, the OLED light panel 110 is a bottom light emitting device. Also, the light extraction layer 104 may be attached to the FPC board 101 by an optional adhesive glue 105, as shown in fig. 10 c. One advantage of such a grid-like FPC board is that the bottom-emitting, top-emitting and transparent OLED light boards can be integrated using the same bonding technique, and thus the production cost is reduced. This is because the general FPC board is opaque. Even if some are optically transparent, their optical properties are too poor to allow proper light transmission. When the FPC does not block the substrate nor the encapsulation layer, light may be emitted from any direction. For example, fig. 11a shows a tile-type OLED module 120 with a plurality of top-emitting OLED light panels 111 integrated on FPC board 101 in the same attachment structure 107 as shown in fig. 10. Since the OLED light panel 111 emits light from the encapsulation layer side, the light extraction layer 106 may be attached to the encapsulation layer side. In addition, for the transparent OLED light plates 121 (see fig. 11 b) that can transmit light on both sides, they can be attached to the FPC board 101 in the same form, thereby constituting the double-sided light-emitting tile 130. In such a configuration, one light extraction layer 104 may be attached to one side of the substrate and the other Zhang Guang extraction layer 106 may be attached to one side of the encapsulation layer. The light extraction layers 104 and 106 may or may not be of the same type.

The substrate of the OLED light panel may be hard glass, or may be a flexible substrate, such as, but not limited to, polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), a metal film, or a textile. The final size of the tile OLED module can be determined by market demand. For example, 1 meter by 1 meter may be used in asian countries and 6 feet by 6 feet (PNNL, OLED lighting products) may be used in north america. The OLED light panels on these tile modules can have different geometries as long as they can be electrically connected to the FPC board. These OLED light panels with different geometries may be cut from different mother substrates.

Now if we assume that each light panel has a light emitting area of 43cm ² Wherein three sides of the square are provided with a 50-micron interval from the edge of the light emitting area to the edge of the substrate, and the rest sides are provided with a 50-micron packaging interval plus a 500-micron contact electrode interval, so that the total area of the light plate is 43.45cm ² The filling rate reaches 99 percent. If the mother board is 6-generation line, roughly calculating that each mother board can produce 600 optical boards, and according to the previous estimation, processingYield of 100% theoretical. The 600 sheets of light sheets are cut out after packaging to become independent light sheets, and then attached to an FPC board to form a tile-type or strip-type OLED module. Finally, the thin film light diffusion layer can be attached to the light emitting surface and comprises the whole module, wherein the light emitting surface is a substrate surface for bottom light emission and a packaging layer for top light emission. In contrast, if one light emitting area is 100cm ² (assuming a 10cm x 10cm square) light panel is to be produced on a six-generation master (1500 mm x 1500 mm) with a maximum of 270 sheets produced. Assume that the cost of producing a six-generation motherboard is Q and 100cm ² The yield of the light plate is 50%,43cm ² The yield of the light plate is 90%, so that each sheet of good 100cm is produced ² The cost of the light plate is Q/135, and each good 43cm piece of light plate is produced ² The cost of the light panel is Q/540. This has reduced the cost by a factor of 4. Indeed, most OLED lighting manufacturers are also using small-scale production lines, such as LG Chem has been using second generation (370 mm x 470 mm) production lines. On the second generation line, only 12 pieces of 100cm can be produced ² The light panel, the cost of a single light panel is dramatically increased to Q/6 (assuming similar six and two-generation line production costs after long-term production). Thus, by increasing the motherboard size and reducing the monolithic light panel size, the cost can be reduced by more than 200 times. Moreover, even if some defective products are found after dicing, they can be rejected before final module assembly, which makes the final module yield higher.

We practice the empirical guidelines for the fabrication of such OLED light panels in their own laboratory. The laboratory was used to vapor deposit an organic layer on an existing ITO glass substrate. As mentioned before, dust is the most critical in the evaporation of organic layers, so we only have this laboratory as the calculation. First, the dust amount was calculated, and the measurement results are shown in table 1. We performed 9 total measurements in different areas of the laboratory. The average number M of dust with the diameter of more than or equal to 0.3 micron is calculated to be 151 dust per cubic foot. From equation 1 we can calculate that the threshold active area A is close to 33cm ² . With this as the standard, we designed an active area of 21cm ² Is provided. This area is selected while ensuring that the area is less than the threshold area, also taking into account the motherboard(we use a 6 inch by 6 inch size) maximum capacity. 90 OLED light plates were produced in the laboratory, the thickness of the organic layer of each light plate was within 0.2 microns, the number of light plates that failed due to dust was 5, and a yield of 94.4% was counted. Note that this manufacturing process is performed in a semi-automated laboratory, and dust introduced by human operation is unavoidable. In a fully automated production environment, we expect the yield to be higher.

Table 1. Dust count results in oled evaporation laboratory.

In some embodiments, each good OLED light panel may be attached to the FPC board next to each other. Note that although the light panels may physically contact each other, their substrates are still separate, i.e., the two substrates are not physically connected and do not constitute a unified object. Alternatively, the OLED light panels may be spaced apart at a pitch of at least 0.1mm, and more preferably greater than 5mm. In some embodiments, a sensor for detecting motion or a wireless transceiver for communicating with other electronic devices may be mounted between the OLED light panels. For example, fig. 12 shows a tile OLED module 200 with a plurality of bottom-emitting OLED light panels 210 integrated therein, with sensors 201 and 202 interposed therebetween. The sensors 201 and 202 may be of the same type or may have different functions. The functions of the sensors 201 and 202 may include, but are not limited to, a motion sensor, a voice-activated sensor, an image sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a pressure sensor, an infrared sensor, and/or a humidity sensor. The application can realize intelligent lamps or the Internet of things. In one embodiment, the entire wall or ceiling or window may be covered by one or more tile OLED modules 200. The tile OLED module in this area may be turned on or turned on when the sensors 201 and 202 detect human movement at a certain location. For example, when a person enters a room to sit down in front of a desk, an OLED module above the desk may turn on while dimming the surrounding lights. The wireless communication system can also be integrated in the luminous ceramic tile to realize remote control by other electronic products. In addition, a space may be deliberately left between the light panels to achieve a specific lighting effect. It is well known that OLED light sources do not follow exactly the Lambertian distribution, especially those of micro-cavity structures (micro-cavity). This means that the light intensity is not exactly uniform at different viewing angles, typically the 90 degree angle is brightest and decreases as the angle increases. To obtain a more uniform light intensity distribution, the OLED light panels may be spaced apart. On the other hand, a uniform light-emitting surface much like a gray sky is undesirable. Thus, the OLED light panels on the tile can be combined to be very compact in one area and loose, i.e. non-uniformly distributed, in another area to cause variations in light intensity.

In addition to improving yield, another benefit of dividing a large area light source into small area light sources is that white light emission can be achieved with separate red, green and blue light plates. It is well known that the human eye cannot distinguish between a white background and a set of red, green and blue pixels at a distance. Color-tunable white lamps made with fuses embedded red, green and blue light strips have also been successfully demonstrated (US 9,214,510B2). In our invention, each panel of single color OLED light sheets can be combined to form a white tile or strip. In this application, separate red, green and blue light panels can be fabricated on different mother boards and then selectively integrated onto the tile. By separately manufacturing the monochromatic light plates, each color can be optimally performed using the optimal device structure (typically the optimal device structures for red, green and blue OLEDs are not identical) and can be individually driven by FPC circuit design. Furthermore, such a manufacturing process is simpler and less costly than a method using replacement reticles and using metal buses (US 9,214,510B2). Also, color modulation can be achieved with this RGB scheme to increase the functionality of the luminaire. When the embedded sensor interacts with the environment, the ceramic tile type OLED module integrated with the monochromatic light plate can be switched from cold white light to warm white light for night illumination or from one single color to another single color according to the environment or mood, so that the intelligent lamp is realized.

Each OLED light panel can be produced on glass or on a flexible substrate. When a hard-bottom glass substrate is used, the final tiled OLED module can still have some flexibility to bend. This is because we leave a gap between the hard-backed OLED light sheets so that the entire tile is still flexible. On this basis, each hard bottom light plate is reduced in size again, making bending more efficient. Fig. 13 shows a flexible large area tiled OLED module 300 comprising a plurality of OLED light panels 310 integrated on FPC board 307. Each OLED light panel 310 contains a hard base substrate 301. The FPC board 307 may be previously coated with a thin film encapsulation layer 306. It follows that although each OLED light panel 310 is itself a rigid device, the entire tile can flex. This is advantageous over the entire tile being completed with a rigid base plate, since in that case the transport difficulties and costs are increased by weight and volume. At the same time, this is also favored over large area flexible OLED light sheets fabricated with a single flexible substrate, which is typically very low yield and costly.

Fig. 14 shows a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a tiled OLED module. First, the number of dusts having a diameter greater than 0.5 microns (more preferably greater than 0.3 microns) is measured in the production zone where the organic layer is evaporated. Thereafter, using the formula a=929m ^-2/3 To calculate the threshold active area, i.e. the maximum area where there is theoretically no dust greater than 0.5 microns in diameter, more preferably greater than 0.3 microns in diameter. A Panel layout (Panel layout) design is then performed with the goal of maximizing the fill factor, which includes designing contact electrodes, an array arrangement of OLED panels on the motherboard. This is followed by a light board distribution design on the module and a corresponding circuit/driver design on the FPC board. Subsequently, the OLED light panel is prepared and packaged on the motherboard according to the design. The package is borderless on at least one side as much as possible. And then the mother board is cut into small independent light boards, and quality detection can be carried out for one time before and after the mother board so as to remove defective products of the OLED light boards. A flexible printed circuit board printed in advance according to a circuit and a driving design is prepared at the same time. Alternatively, the FPC board may be coated with a thin film encapsulation layer, or may be pre-integrated with sensors or other wireless devicesA communication device. Finally, the cut independent OLED light plates are attached to the FPC board according to the circuit design to manufacture the ceramic tile type or strip type OLED module. Lamination may be accomplished by a lamination robot that incorporates a system of robotic arms, dispensing, UV illumination, heating devices, and/or pressurizing jigs. As another option, the light extraction layer may be molded onto the light emitting face of the finished module.

It should be understood that the various embodiments described herein are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Thus, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the claimed invention may include variations of the specific and preferred embodiments described herein. Many of the materials and structures described herein may be substituted with other materials and structures without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that the various theories as to why the present invention works are not intended to be limiting.

Claims

An oled lighting module comprising:

a plurality of OLED light panels, wherein the OLED light panels comprise a substrate, an OLED device, an encapsulation layer, at least one anode contact, at least one cathode contact, and at least one light emitting surface; a first flexible printed circuit board including a first surface and a second surface, and a first circuit printed on the first surface;

wherein at least one of the anode contacts and at least one of the cathode contacts of at least two of the OLED light panels are electrically connected to the first circuit on the first surface of the first flexible printed circuit board such that a plurality of the OLED light panels are electrically accessed externally;

wherein the substrates of at least two of the OLED light panels are spaced apart from each other; a space larger than 0.1mm is arranged between the substrates of the at least two OLED light plates;

One end of each OLED light plate is provided with an anode contact, the other opposite end is provided with a cathode contact, and the OLED light plates are connected in parallel on a circuit; or, the OLED light plates are connected in series on the flexible printed circuit board;

the active area a of the OLED light panel,in cm ² Is represented by the formula a=929m ^-2/3 Wherein M is an average dust count greater than X microns per cubic foot diameter, wherein X is selected from between 0.1 and 0.5.
2. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, further comprising a light extraction layer.
3. The OLED lighting module of claim 2, wherein the light extraction layer is a diffusion film and is attached to at least one light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.
4. The OLED lighting module of claim 2, the light extraction layer extending beyond a light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.
5. The OLED lighting module of claim 2, the light extraction layer attached to at least a portion of the first flexible printed circuit board.
6. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, wherein the encapsulation layer is a thin film encapsulation layer; or a cover sheet adhered to the substrate.
7. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors, wherein at least one of the sensors is placed between two OLED light panels.
8. The OLED lighting module of claim 7, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of a motion sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a humidity sensor, or an infrared sensor.
9. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels further comprises a first OLED light panel that emits light having a first peak wavelength and a second OLED light panel that emits light having a second peak wavelength, wherein the first peak wavelength and the second peak wavelength differ by at least 10nm.
10. The OLED lighting module of claim 9, the plurality of OLED light panels further comprising a third OLED light panel, wherein the first OLED light panel emits light having a first peak wavelength of 400-500nm, the second OLED light panel emits light having a second peak wavelength of 500-580nm, and the third OLED light panel emits light having a third peak wavelength of 580-700 nm.
11. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, further comprising a support film, wherein the support film is attached to at least a portion of a side of the first flexible printed circuit board opposite the light emitting surface.
12. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, the following definitions are individually made in relation to the first flexible printed circuit board: the first flexible printed circuit board is overlapped with only a portion of the OLED light panel; or the first flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the OLED light plate through conductive adhesive; alternatively, at least one of the first surface or the second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board is pre-coated with a thin film encapsulation layer; or, further comprising a second circuit printed on a second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board, wherein at least one OLED light panel is electrically connected to the first surface and at least another OLED light panel is electrically connected to the second surface of the first flexible printed circuit board; alternatively, the first flexible printed circuit board is less than 1mm thick; alternatively, the first flexible printed circuit board further comprises a flexible substrate selected from the group consisting of: plastic, film glass, metal film coated with an insulating layer, fabric, leather, paper, and combinations thereof.
13. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, the following definitions are individually made in relation to the OLED light panel: wherein the substrate of at least one OLED light panel is flexible; alternatively, at least one of the OLED light panels is driven independently on the circuit; alternatively, the plurality of OLED light panels have the same or different shapes; or wherein at least two OLED light panels are cut from two mother panels; alternatively, the plurality of OLED light sheets are unevenly distributed on the first flexible printed circuit board.
14. The OLED lighting module of claim 1, further comprising a second flexible printed circuit board, wherein a plurality of OLED light boards are electrically connected to the second flexible printed circuit board, wherein the first and second flexible printed circuit boards are connected such that at least one OLED light board on the first flexible printed circuit board emits light in a direction opposite to at least one OLED light board on the second flexible printed circuit board.
15. A method of making an OLED lighting module comprising the steps of:

a) Determining the area of an active area of an OLED light plate;

designing a light plate layout;

b) Designing light plate distribution;

designing corresponding circuits for the light panel distribution and printing the designed circuits onto a first surface of a first flexible printed circuit board;

c) Manufacturing a plurality of OLED light panels on at least one motherboard;

encapsulating the plurality of OLED light panels;

cutting at least one of the mother substrates into individual OLED light panels;

d) Electrically bonding at least two separate OLED light panels onto a first surface of the flexible printed circuit board, wherein the OLED light panels are capable of being externally driven;

wherein a space of more than 0.1mm is arranged between the substrates of at least two OLED light plates;

step b of the method may be performed before, after or simultaneously with step c;

wherein the active area A of the OLED light plate is expressed in cm ² Is represented by the formula a=929m ^-2/3 Wherein M is an average dust count greater than X microns per cubic foot diameter, wherein X is selected from between 0.1 and 0.5.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a light extraction layer.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the light extraction layer is a diffusion film and is attached to at least one light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.
18. The method of claim 16, the light extraction layer extending beyond a light emitting surface of at least one of the OLED light panels.
19. The method of claim 16, the light extraction layer being attached to at least a portion of the first flexible printed circuit board.
20. The method of claim 15, the following definitions are individually made in relation to the OLED light panel: the plurality of OLED light panels are thin film packaged; alternatively, the substrate of at least one OLED light panel is flexible; alternatively, at least one of the OLED light panels is driven independently on the circuit; alternatively, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels are fabricated from two or more motherboards; alternatively, wherein the plurality of OLED light sheets are screened before being integrated into the first flexible printed circuit board.
21. The method of claim 15, further comprising positioning one or more sensors between two OLED light panels on the flexible printed circuit board.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of: a motion sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a humidity sensor or an infrared sensor.
23. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of OLED light panels further comprises a first OLED light panel that emits light having a first peak wavelength and a second OLED light panel that emits light having a second peak wavelength, wherein the first peak wavelength and the second peak wavelength differ by at least 10nm.
24. The method of claim 15, the plurality of OLED light panels further comprising a third OLED light panel, wherein the first OLED light panel emits light having a first peak wavelength of 400-500nm, the second OLED light panel emits light having a second peak wavelength of 500-580nm, and the third OLED light panel emits light having a third peak wavelength of 580-700 nm.
25. The method of claim 15, further comprising a support film, wherein the support film is attached to at least a portion of a side of the first flexible printed circuit board that is not connected to an OLED light panel.
26. The method of claim 15, the following definitions are individually made in relation to the first flexible printed circuit board: wherein the first flexible printed circuit board overlaps only a portion of the OLED light panel; or the first flexible printed circuit board is electrically connected to the OLED light plate through conductive adhesive; or wherein the first flexible printed circuit board is less than 1mm thick; alternatively, the first flexible printed circuit board further comprises a flexible substrate selected from the group consisting of: plastic, film glass, metal film coated with an insulating layer, fabric, leather, paper, and combinations thereof.
An OLED lighting fixture comprising at least one OLED lighting module as claimed in claim 1.